As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child’s vision is normal because any problem in his eyes may affect your child’s life in more than one ways. Therefore, it is important that you take your kid for a regular eye examination.
An eye examination or eye test is extremely important as it helps in establishing your kid’s eye health and it also aids in ascertaining eye problems, if any. Here are some reasons why you should consider paediatric eye examination for your kid:
Your child’s doctor may perform a general eye examination soon after your baby is born. However, the first comprehensive eye test or your child’s first eye exam may be conducted as soon as your baby reaches six months of age. After this, it is recommended that the eye test may be performed when your child turns three-year-old and subsequently it should be done before your kid begins his formal education, which is around five or six years of age. If your child does not need any vision correction, then an eye examination may be scheduled once in every two years. However, if your kid wears glasses, then an examination may be required on a yearly basis or as suggested by the eye specialist.
Sometimes a child may have a vision problem and thus you may be required to take your kid for an eye examination. Here are symptoms that may indicate that your child has vision problems:
These symptoms could indicate that your child may be suffering from a vision problem, it is suggested that you schedule your child’s eye examination at the earliest.
If you are planning to schedule an eye examination for your child, here are some things that you need to keep in mind:
Whenever you plan to visit an eye doctor for your child’s eye examination, it is imperative that you speak to your child about it beforehand. Explain to your child in regards to what he will be required to do there. Tell your kid that he may have to identify various objects, pictures, letters, or the shape of the light on the wall. The doctor may put some eye drops in his eyes, which may create a tingling sensation, so prepare your child for the same in advance. It is very important that you tell your child about the procedures frankly, that your kid may have to undergo so that your kid is better prepared and also knows what to expect at a child eye exam.
By the time a baby turns 6 months, he has a better colour vision, focusing ability, and depth perception. In order to ascertain if your baby’s eyes are developing in a normal and proper way, your doctor may conduct the following eye exams.
In order to check your baby’s pupil response, your doctor will make use of light to see how your baby’s pupils expand and recede.
In order to assess your baby’s vision capabilities, your doctor may make use of two cards, one blank and one striped. Your doctor will place the card in front of your baby’s eyes to grab his attention on the striped card.
This test is done to see whether your baby’s eyes are able to fix and follow his gaze. It is seen that soon after birth a baby may be able to fix his gaze and by the time he turns three, he may follow an object.
Your child may be advised following eyesight tests for kids by the time he is three years old or is a preschooler:
In order to establish the clarity and range of vision of your child, your doctor may perform this test. This test involves showing some random but easily identifiable images to your kid such as an apple, grapes or banana. The pictures are placed at a desired distant by the doctor.
This test involves various kinds of dotted patterns that your child may have to see through a 3D glass, to check his vision and to establish how well your child’s eyes are coordinated.
This test helps your doctor establish whether or not your child requires glasses. The test involves shining a light into your kid’s eyes to check for the reflection from the back of the eye.
Apart from the above-mentioned eye tests, your doctor may recommend the following eye tests for school-aged children:
The test is conducted to establish how coordinated your child’s eyes are or how well your child’s eyes work together.
Young children and teenagers may face problems in focusing on objects, and thus the doctor may conduct tests to establish how well your kid’s eyes are able to focus.
Children who have a problem in coordinating their hands and eyes movements may feel extremely frustrated, and this may adversely affect their academic performance too. Your doctor may test your child’s eyes to establish this problem.
Apart from the above-mentioned tests, your doctor may conduct peripheral vision, colour vision or even tracking test for school-aged children to establish various eye problems.
Here are some of the vision problems that your eye specialist may notice while performing various eye examinations.
A child’s learning skills and vision are interlinked. It is observed that about 80 percent of the information that a child grasps and perceives in school is through visual senses only. This means that in order to aid a child’s learning his vision has to be good too. Thus, any kind of vision-related problem may adversely impact a child’s learning skills.
Your child’s eye health and vision is a very important aspect of his optimum growth and development. In case, you notice any signs of eye problem in your kid, take him to an eye doctor.